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The Darkness Before the Dawn

A chapter-by-chapter retelling of The Darkness Before the Dawn, the second book in the Dark Sun Chronicles of Athas series, following two psionic outcasts across a dying desert world.

The Darkness Before the Dawn by Ryan Hughes (pen name for Jerry Oltion) is set on Athas, the brutal post-apocalyptic desert world of the Dark Sun campaign setting. The story follows Jedra, a half-elf street kid with dangerous untrained psionic abilities, and Kayan, a human ex-templar healer who lost everything when she defied her superiors. Freed from a slave caravan by desert elves, they must cross the scorching wasteland in search of a mentor who can teach them to control their powers before they destroy everyone around them.

Their journey takes them from the camps of the Jura-Dai elves to the ancient ruins where they meet Kitarak, a tohr-kreen tinkerer and philosopher who becomes their teacher. In his hidden canyon home, they discover crystal worlds containing pocket dimensions built by immortal minds. These crystals hold both paradise and nightmare, offering glimpses of what Athas once was and what unchecked power can create.

The story reaches its peak in the city of Tyr, where Jedra and Kayan are captured and forced into the gladiatorial arena. Trained by their old enemy Sahalik and watched by sorcerer-king Kalak, they face the ultimate test when ordered to fight each other to the death. The solution requires them to trust everything they have learned about psionics, crystals, and each other. It is a survival story, a messy love story, and a harsh-world fantasy that never lets its characters rest.

Mar 15, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

The Darkness Before the Dawn: A Dark Sun Chronicles of Athas Retelling

So I just finished the second book in the Dark Sun Chronicles of Athas series, and I have thoughts.

The Darkness Before the Dawn by Ryan Hughes is set in the Dark Sun campaign world, which is basically the bleakest Dungeons & Dragons setting ever created. If you are picturing green forests and friendly taverns, stop. That is not what this is. Athas is a dying world. The sun is red. The desert goes on forever. Water is worth more than gold. Metal is so rare that people fight with weapons made from bone and obsidian. And the people who run things are immortal sorcerer-kings who have been draining the life from the planet for thousands of years.

Mar 16, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Feasting With Elves After Freedom: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 1

The book opens with a slave caravan burning in the desert while a tribe of elves throws a party around the wreckage.

Mar 17, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Jedra vs Sahalik: Half-Elf Fights for Survival - The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 2

The chapter opens with Jedra staring at the chief like the man just said it was going to rain. “Anybody here can call anybody else a coward, and that person has to fight? That’s a tribal rule?”

Mar 18, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Surviving the Desert of Athas: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 3

Kayan collapses within a mile.

It is the middle of the day. The sun is relentless. They were exiled with three days of food and water, and the chief’s parting threat is still ringing in their ears. They are so exhausted from the cloud ray battle and Kayan’s healing that they can barely walk. And the elves sent them out at noon, which on Athas is basically a death sentence.

Mar 19, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Meeting Kitarak the Tohr-Kreen: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 4

The dying creature is not what they think it is.

Jedra looks down at it and sees a thri-kreen, one of those giant mantis-like insect people. But something about it seems off. Bigger cranial bulge behind the eyes. Narrower face. And strapped to its back is a massive pack stuffed with gear, most of it made of metal. On Athas, where a single metal knife can buy you a month of food, this creature is carrying a fortune in hardware. Cooking pots, gythka blades, curved throwing weapons, and tools Jedra cannot even identify.

Mar 20, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Why Seek Power? Kitarak Asks the Hard Questions - The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 5

This chapter is basically a walking interview. The three of them are crossing the desert toward Tyr, and Kitarak decides it’s the perfect time to figure out who he’s traveling with. But the way he does it tells you so much about who he is.

Mar 21, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Kitarak's Secret Canyon Home: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 6

This chapter is basically a tour of the coolest home on Athas. And the fact that it belongs to a giant insect philosopher makes it even better.

Mar 22, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Discovering Worlds Inside Crystals: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 7

This chapter starts ugly and ends somewhere incredible. The emotional range is wild. You go from a relationship falling apart to one of the most mind-bending discoveries in the whole series.

Mar 23, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Trapped in a Crystal World With a Dragon: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 8

Remember last chapter when I said the crystals were a miracle and a potential disaster? This chapter is the disaster part. It happens fast, and Jedra has to grow up real quick to deal with it.

Mar 24, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

The Dangerous Second Crystal World: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 9

You’d think almost dying inside a crystal world would be enough to keep someone from touching another one. You’d think that. But this is Jedra we’re talking about. The guy who grew up on the streets of Urik and apparently never learned the meaning of “maybe don’t do that.”

Mar 25, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Forced to Become Gladiators in Tyr: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 10

Tyr was supposed to be the destination. The city where things would get better. The place where Jedra and Kayan could finally stop running and start building something. But Athas doesn’t work like that. Athas takes your plans and feeds them to a mekillot.

Mar 26, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Sentenced to Kill Each Other in the Arena: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 11

The arena chapters have been building toward something terrible. You could feel it coming. Two people who love each other, forced to fight as gladiators, performing for a crowd that wants blood. The only question was how bad it would get.

Mar 27, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

The Final Battle and a New Dawn: The Darkness Before the Dawn Chapter 12

The escape fails. I’ll just say it upfront so you’re not holding your breath. After all that planning, all that fighting through guards and blasting psionicists, Jedra and Kayan don’t make it out. They end up right back where they started, except now their captors are angry and the timeline just got shorter.

Mar 28, 2019
The Darkness Before the Dawn

Final Thoughts on the Darkness Before the Dawn: Dark Sun Chronicles Review

We made it. Fourteen posts covering one book about a half-elf and a human woman trying not to die on a desert planet ruled by tyrants. So what did we actually just read? Let me break it down.